


Ready

by Mahokoyuki



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Band Fic, Childhood Friends, Getting Together, M/M, Pining, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22720978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mahokoyuki/pseuds/Mahokoyuki
Summary: “Griffin?” James blinked, realized he’d been staring, and immediately felt the heat creep up his neck.“Y-Yeah.”  He coughed and stood, trying again.  “Uh, it’s been awhile.”“Yeah.  Since what?  Junior high?”  James nodded as Keith looked him up and down.  “Didn’t see this coming.  You being in a band.”  Keith was smirking.  James hated him.But, not really.  And that was the problem...
Relationships: James Griffin/Keith (Voltron)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	Ready

**Author's Note:**

> For the Jeith Valentines exchange 🧡❤️

“Never fear! I have saved us all!”

“Lance, it’s too early for your nonsense.”

James grabbed his cup, disappointed to see it empty. Had he already drank all the coffee on his way to the studio? He cast a suspicious glance at Ryan but the bassist was in the middle of replacing one of his strings. He turned his head the other way, hoping to see a guilty looking Nadia. She was balancing a stick on her nose and it looked like she had her own frozen sugary drink down by her feet.

Alright, if one cup of coffee wasn’t going to do the trick, he’d get another.

“You all have too little faith in me. Listen!” Lance pushed James back down in his chair just as he stood. He landed with a grunt and glared. 

“The hell?”

“I met a guy.”

“Oh!” The sound of a drum stick hitting the floor made James wince. “You met someone? Is he cute? Is he immune to your terrible pick up lines?”

“Excuse you, my lines are gold. And I didn’t meet him like that! He’s actually kinda annoying, however! He’s got a great voice and he’s gonna be here in, like...any minute.”

James sighed. So much for his coffee. And now he would have to endure whoever Lance found. They were in desperate need of a vocalist. Lance’s voice was pretty good but it didn’t really fit their punkish rock style. James should be grateful Lance was trying to help but he didn’t have much confidence in him finding someone that would fit. 

“Hello?”

“Oh, hey, man! We were just talking about you! Come on in!” Lance yelled and jogged to the door, pushing it open wider. “Glad you found the place.”

“Wasn’t easy with these half ass directions written in marker.”

“That’s all I had on me!”

James rolled his eyes and nearly went back to playing around on his guitar but a flash of black had his eyes moving back up.

Black jeans, black shirt with a band name so faded James couldn’t read it, black hair...and—

Oh god.

Keith.

James felt simultaneously hot and cold, furious and happy. The feeling wasn’t completely foreign, Keith made him feel so many conflicting emotions when they were younger, but damn had it been so long since he’d had to deal with them. 

“Griffin?” James blinked, realized he’d been staring, and immediately felt the heat creep up his neck.

“Y-Yeah.” He coughed and stood, trying again. “Uh, it’s been awhile.”

“Yeah. Since what? Junior high?” James nodded as Keith looked him up and down. “Didn’t see this coming. You being in a band.” Keith was smirking. James hated him.

But, not really. And that was the problem...

“Well, I’m surprised you’re not in jail or up Shiro’s ass, so.” James shrugged.

“What the fu-“

Lance was cut off by a rather loud snort and laughter, coming from Keith. Even James was surprised and he had to fight the smile threatening to show on his own face.

“You’ve grown some balls, Griffin. So you guys wanna hear me sing or what? My shift starts in an hour.”

“Yeah we do! I’m Nadia by the way.”

—

Keith could sing. James wasn’t surprised. Keith Kogane could try just about anything and be good at it, whether he wanted to or not. As kids, their classmates were drawn to him, despite his rough attitude and preference of solitude. He struggled a little academically but James never saw the guy actually study either. Keith still passed though. He’d spent time in a juvenile detention center for destruction of property and that only made him seem cooler. He hung out with an older kid and they rode dirt bikes and eventually Keith followed him. Shiro. Keith left him for Shiro.

At least that was how it felt back then. Keith was his friend but then jealousy and the need to best Keith kinda soured things between them. Keith never seemed to really care in the first place which had only made James angry. It wasn’t until high school that James realized he liked Keith, that he’d wanted his attention, that he wanted to feel worthy enough to be his friend...or more. But Keith had emancipated himself from his foster family and moved to another city to go to a private school. He’d must’ve studied relentlessly just to attend the same place as Shiro.

Now though, he sat with his band mates at a McDonald’s discussing the future of their band with Keith as their vocalist. 

“Alright. So we can agree he has a good voice and it fits, right?” The three guys nodded, James a bit more reluctantly, in agreement with Nadia. “And he’s attractive. Which also fits, ‘cause we are all hella hot.”

“Amen.” Lance, flashing a smile. 

Nadia laughed and went on. “Finally, the best part is he’s interested. Like, for real, into the music and making something. Not just to try and get famous.”

“Not that getting famous would be a bad thing!” Lance interjected again. 

“Duh.”

“Don’t worry.” Ryan put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “You’ll always be our diva and we accept your dream of fame.”

“Thank you, Ryan.”

“Guys, let’s focus.” James was getting irritated. He knew what was coming and fighting it would only make things worse. “Keith’s perfect. We’ll offer him the spot. Can we just eat now?”

“Yep! Glad we came to a decision!” Nadia punched him in the arm and dug into her burger. James tried his best not to pout as he sipped his milkshake. Keith did seem different. James knew he also wasn’t nearly the same as he was back when they were somewhat friends. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in learning about this Keith. But he was also afraid.

Afraid he wouldn’t be enough for this Keith to stick around either. 

—

“Hey, can you go over something with me?”

James looked up, startled. Practice had ended nearly fifteen minutes ago and he’s sure he told everyone goodbye already. Well, he said bye and immediately picked up his notebook without actually seeing anyone leave. He ignored the heat creeping up his neck at the thought that Keith was just hanging out there, watching him work.

“Uh, sure.” James closed the notebook and grabbed his guitar. “Everything was sounding good earlier though. There’s a few spots where the timing was a tiny bit off but we’re getting there.” 

“Actually,” Keith grabbed the notebook and sat in its place, right next to James on the sofa. “I wanted to hear you play the chorus of that new song.”

“O-okay.” James adjusted the guitar and put some distance between them at the same time. He began to play while sneaking a glance at Keith. His eyes were closed and his head bobbed along with the notes James hit. This song had only been played a few times at practice before Keith came along. James was still working on lyrics for it.

“There.” Keith interrupted. “Instead of going down, maybe go up?” Keith hummed it back, changing the note a bit higher. “Then coming back in like-“ Again he hummed, starting higher than what was originally written but, it worked. James played it back, changing the notes. He imagined Keith singing to it, words still elusive to him but he could hear it.

“Yeah, I like that better.”

“Really?”

“Yes? I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t.”

Keith stared at him and James could feel that familiar warmth in his cheeks. Even when Keith’s attention was on him over small things it felt intense. 

“I was expecting you to argue, whether you liked my input or not. You would have, back then.”

“Well, I’m not a kid anymore.” A stupid kid, at that. Now just a jaded and confused adult. 

“Hmm. I do keep getting reminded of that.” 

James ignored the comment, not sure how to respond anyway. He stood and paced, playing through the song again, keeping Keith’s suggestion in mind and changing other parts to better fit. It was different thinking how Keith would sing it. He had a pretty big range and utilizing it would be fun, actually. 

“Turned my world upside, you don’t know what you do.   
My mind running circles, always coming back to you.”

James stopped, nearly dropping the guitar but instead gripping it tightly. It felt like cold water had been dumped over him at hearing those words. The words he wrote, being spoken by Keith almost sing song like as if trying to fit it to the music he played.

Keith reciting the words James had written about him just the night before.

“Why’d you stop?”

It was a blur after that. The guitar left on the couch, his notebook safely back in his hands, and James was practically running toward the door. Of course, Keith was faster. Of course he was.

“Woah! Stop. What the hell is up with you?”

“You...” James pulled his arm away from where Keith grabbed him. “You can’t just look through people’s stuff!”

Keith frowned. “Lance told me you’ve been working on lyrics. I assumed since you brought that here it was for the band. Which I’m in. Who cares if I read it? It’s stuff you’re working on anyway, right?”

“But it’s not ready! I-“ James groaned and shook his head. “I just like to brainstorm and then only share stuff I’m sure about with everyone. This...isn’t ready.”

Keith was silent for much too long, just staring at James. He could practically see the wheels turning and James began to sweat. He couldn’t know it was about him. At best, Keith would tease him. The worst outcome would be he quits the band and never talks to James again. 

There was no way Keith ever or would ever return these feelings. 

“Still not ready, huh?” Keith mumbled then turned away. “I wouldn’t keep that person waiting too long.”

—

Keith was still a little hot headed. He and Lance bickered quite a bit but still somehow managed to be friendly. It baffled James. But even more puzzling was how often Keith came to him. Whether it was about the band or not, they were practically stuck at the hook during practices and even hung out pretty often. Even if their conversation was mostly about music it was still nice. Keith was able to laugh at the stupid stuff he did when he was younger which let James laugh at his own behavior. Between the laughs and the teasing there were apologies, not so much spoken as felt. 

So, the day of their first gig as a fully formed band, James felt good. The confusing feelings about Keith were eroded down and manageable. Well, as manageable as a crush on your childhood friend turned not friend turned stranger turned bandmate and new friend could be.

James pushed it from his mind to focus. The show was going to start and from behind the curtain he could hear the crowd. 

“Hey.”

“Holy shit!” James jumped and pushed Keith away gently as the singer began to laugh. “Don’t sneak up on me, I’m nervous enough as it is.”

“I’m nervous too. But we’re gonna kick ass.” Keith touched his shoulder and James felt his knees get weak when he saw a blush starting to form on Keith’s face. “Listen. That new song...would you care if I dedicate it to someone during the show? I know I didn’t help write it much but...”

And now that cold again, coursing through his veins. 

“Oh, uh, sure. The music’s for everybody. I’m just glad...you can connect with my words.”

“Yeah...”. Keith gave him a strange smile and let go. “Well, time to start.”

It took James a song to get in the right headspace. He knew he never really had a shot with Keith but his stupid heart hurt anyway. The show had to go on though so he reigned it in, only earning a questionable glance from Ryan after the first song finished. He waved his concern off and grabbed a bottle as Keith introduced the band. That’s when he saw him. Shiro, toward the back. His hair was different but it was definitely him.

Shiro would get the words James wrote from Keith and that just made it sting even more.

He felt numb as they continued through their set, thankful for the muscle memory to pull him through. He let his mind get lost in the songs, trying to shut everything out. When Keith spoke up next toward the end though, James snapped back to reality, watching Keith from the side as he adjusted his guitar.

“This next one means a lot to me. So much so that I want to dedicate to an old friend of mine.” Then Keith turned and look straight at James. “Because I hope they know I feel the same.” 

There were cheers but James felt like time froze, just staring into Keith’s eyes, sweat on his face, the eyeliner smudged on his right eye, and that damned red tank top clinging to him sinfully.

There was no mistake who Keith meant.

Keith moved near him during the song, impossible close with the microphone as James supported with back up vocals.

“I’ll carry this feeling around, lock my heart and hide they key.  
Silence has never been so hard.  
What else can I do?  
No matter how far away from me,  
I’ll always be stuck on you.”

One last glance and Keith turned back to the crowd, announcing their final song. James played his heart out, watching Keith sing and catch the small quick smiles thrown his way. Lance and James crosses their necks and played up front, Nadia got her solo, Ryan and Keith gave attention to the crowds left and right. The noise was deafening and James remembered why he wanted to do this in the first place. It made him feel alive. Made him feel the things when he and Keith went on adventures as children. Or when they competed. Or when he catch Keith drop the “I don’t give a shit” attitude and really be interested in something. 

Nothing made James feel more alive than how Keith was looking at him now. The curtains were barely closed before James hand a hand behind Keith’s head and pressed their lips together. There was a cat call, from Lance or Nadia, he wasn’t sure. The loud sigh had to be from Ryan. 

They parted but didn’t separate. 

“You ready now, Griffin?”

“You really feel the same? I mean, Shiro was out there.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I don’t think Shiro’s husband would like that. Besides, he came here to not only support the band but to make sure I didn’t chicken out.” He took James’ hand. “Last chance, James Griffin. Are. You. Ready?”

James smirked and kissed him as his answer.


End file.
